The Department of Housing and Urban Develoment defended itself against criticism by its own internal watchdog by underscoring steps it has taken to strengthen its ability to target and review high-risk, federally insured mortgage loans. Responding to a recent negative evaluation by its Office of the Inspector General, HUD said...

Having different compensation formulas with different wholesale lenders could expose an honest mortgage broker to charges of illegal steering under the Federal Reserve’s loan originator compensation rule taking effect April 1. The California Association of Mortgage Professionals warned...

Similar lawsuits seeking to stop the implementation and enforcement of the Federal Reserve’s final rule prohibiting certain payments to mortgage loan originators (MLO) have been filed in federal district court in Washington, DC. In recent filings, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers and the National Association of Independent Housing Professionals sought...

Discussion over the size of civil fines to be imposed on mortgage servicers continues in the wake of a draft term sheet of the settlement agreement proposed by state attorneys general that was floated last week. A spokesman for Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said...

Mortgage originations made by the Department of Veterans Affairs fell slightly from 2009 to 2010, but the VA’s share of the market set an all-time record last year due to the drop in total mortgage lending. The $68.92 billion in VA loans made...[Includes one data chart]

Wells Fargo will stop offering reverse mortgages through its wholesale and broker channels after next week, becoming the latest large FHA lender to reconfigure its business in that sector. Bank of America announced in early February that it will stop originating reverse mortgages as the company plans to focus on its “core” business. Wells and BofA were...[Includes one data chart]

Just over two thirds of the home mortgages originated in 2010 were to refinance an existing loan, a surprisingly low figure given the historic lows in mortgage interest rates seen last year and the still weak state of the housing market. A total of $1.055 trillion of refinance loans were originated...[Includes three data charts]

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to inch toward profitability in a market that remains dicey, tentative and uneven – all while navigating between escalating dividend payouts to the Treasury Department and a steep drop in their need for additional capital infusions. Over the last 12 months, the two GSEs have seen...[Includes one data chart]

The government’s heavy footprint in the residential mortgage market shifted slightly in 2010 as the FHA and VA programs gave back some market share and the government-sponsored enterprises captured a smaller slice of the conventional conforming business. In 2009, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issuance of single-family mortgage securities backed by newly-originated loans accounted...[Includes three data charts]